I'm sitting writing this on the terrace at my hotel, listening to the salsa-type (?) music from the bar on the corner at the end of the road, feeling happy that it feels quite a bit cooler now at 7.30pm- it's still close but nowhere near as hot/humid as during the day. I've enjoyed the past few days here in Cartagena, they were a bit more 'productive' than my first day's wandering though I still took it easy and didn't cram too much in- think it would be quite hard to rush around anyway with how hot and sticky it is! By the way I should point out now, this blog is going to be my journal for the trip so you may find it on the long (boring?) side sometimes, sorry about that, but you'll just have to skip bits if that's the case!

So I'll start with yesterday (Saturday)- I woke at 7 after 8 hours sleep, pretty good considering but it was a fit-full sleep (is that a word?!) due to the heat and whilst the fan helps it's also a bit noisy, maybe I should have invested in air-con! It was much later by the time I'd organised myself and done some reading to consider my plans for the day, even later by the time I'd had breakfast (at least I was in time to get some!) so at 11am I decided it was too late to go and visit the fortress, or rather too hot and nearing the midday sun so I decided to save that for another day. Instead I wandered back to the old town and visited a few places there, including the Museo del Oro (Gold museum- where there was lovely air-con!) and the San Pedro Convent, or rather sanctuary as the guide I had explained- convents are for nuns, there were no nuns. It was interesting to find out about San Pedro who was a Spanish Jesuit priest (monk?) who devoted his 40 years at the church here working with the slaves brought from Africa. It's funny because after I'd visited here the statues outside made sense, when yesterday I had no idea what it represented. My guide was rather elderly, I'd say about 80, and I was concerned by how frail he was. His English was good and it was informative, though I wonder if my tour was shorter than others after having seen other guided tours going on! I wandered afterwards and took some photos, it was a lovely building and very peaceful. I then went for a nice lunch in a pretty bust restaurant- it was in the Lonely Planet but as well as a few foreign tourists it seemed to have lots of Colombians there too. My lunch cost 13,500 pesos (approx. £4.50) and included soup, bread, salad and a main course of fish in a curry sauce with rice. It was delicious! I attempted afterwards to find somewhere that I wanted to visit but ended up going too far then ending up somewhere unknown- couldn't decide where I was on the map! But then found where I was and it wasn't far at all from the gate to the old town! My sense of direction, though a little improved, continues to be a bit rubbish! Lol The old town is a bit of a maze of little streets though, that's my excuse anyway! I decided to go somewhere different instead so walked down by the Meulle de los Pegasos, the port area- sat by the water for a bit reading my book. Came back to the hotel by 5.30 I think, but not before I'd had a slice of yummy banana cake at the Australian Fusion Café! This meant I wasn't really hungry for any dinner- I ended up sitting on the terrace til the sun had set then I watched a film, fell asleep before 10!

Decided I'd better get out a bit earlier today so was having breakfast by 9- a bargain at 4,700 pesos for scrambled egg, 2 arepas, hot chocolate and a (bag of!) water. The arepas, which I first came across in Venezuela, were a bit dry (bit like bread made from cornflour). By 9.30 I was on my way to the fortress " Castillo de San Felipe de Barajas". It's on the side of town to where my hotel is so it wasn't too far too walk, though it seemed further in the heat which despite the time felt very hot already! And just got hotter! I got an audio guide and spend a good few hours up there walking around, enjoying the views, trying to find shade from the sun! It was an interesting place to visit but by the time I was finished I just wanted to jump in the shower, which is just what I did! I think this heat/humidity is only manageable if you are near a swimming pool and can get in it to cool down on a very regular basis….perhaps I should have looked for somewhere with a pool! Anyway knowing that the Australian Fusion Café had air-con I decided to have lunch there. I chose "Australianised" Fish and Chips, once again the fish was very good, it's so fresh here. The portion was so generous that I couldn't eat it all.

Went off wandering after and decided to find the place I'd been heading for yesterday and turns out I wasn't too far away yesterday- las Bovedas, which were part of the old garrison, now the arches house little shops, which I avoided due to not wanting to start buying stuff this early in the trip! However as I was approaching I noticed some kites in the air and soon found out that there were loads! As in hundreds! Loads of people gathered above and on the ground around these 'bovedas' flying kites. I asked one family if it was always like this but from what I could understand it was just in August because of the breeze! Not sure this was correct so I googled it and found a bit of info on it- it was (I think!) the second international kite festival they have had here in Cartagena. I found it interesting to see that it was a real family occasion and that people of all ages were flying kites. A lovely way to spend some time; people-watching and watching the kites flying high above.
I also spotted somewhere where people were in the sea, not much of a beach but still perhaps a possibility! I walked back on the walls and headed back to the hotel…..have to say that with it being Sunday it was a lot quieter as I left the old town and whilst I didn't feel unsafe I was glad it was still daylight and my pace did quicken a bit. I found somewhere to have a snack just round the corner from my hotel so did that on the way back, which was preferable to going out once it was dark! It was a little like a pizza with the base being made out of plantain covered in a good variety of vegetables and a little cheese. There was a group of Dutch people on the terrace having a dinner of French bread and cheese, salad, etc and I have to say I was a bit envious, it looked good! I think I'll need to start doing that for one of my meals a day….will save me money, not that I've spent loads on food but it will start adding up….so that brings me up to date! Tomorrow's plan is probably to go to a beach- la playa blanca, which is on a nearby island- supposed to be very beautiful, one of the best around here! 